McNett’s DoubleTap Ammunition Equalizer 165gr and 80gr 9mm +P Duplex Rounds at up to 1400-1600 Feet Per Second (FPS)! Are They “The Heat”, or Just Hype? Latest Gimmick or Ballistic Gold?

The following article is property of DefenseReview.com (DR) and is copyrighted material. If you are reading this article on another website other than DefenseReview.com, please email us the website address/URL (where the unauthorized DR article reprint is located) at defrev (at) gmail (dot) com. Thank you.

Defense Review is generally skeptical of duplex rounds (rifle and/or pistol), since they not only seem a bit unnecessary and gimmicky, but also create some potential accuracy challenges, tactical situational challenges in certain scenarios (family member taken hostage, dynamic, fluid defensive situations with innocent people in the background, etc.), and even possible additional legal liability from aggressive and/or unsympathetic district attornys (think Trayvon Martin case a.k.a. State of Florida v. George Zimmerman).

And, yet, still, McNett’s DoubleTap Equalizer 165-grain and 80-grain 9mm Parabellum/9x19mm NATO +P duplex rounds intrigue Defense Review from a design, execution and ballistic performance perspective. In cross section, they look pretty neat. We’re curious to know just how much of a tactical advantage they provide the shooter over high-quality, battle-proven conventional hollow-point rounds from Federal, Winchester, Remington, Cor-Bon, and DoubleTap, itself. Do they? If so, how much, and is it measurable via empirical data? If it is, is it worth the potential additional legal risk? These are all questions that must be asked and answered. But, until then, let’s look at the info we have.

The only differences between the two DoubleTap Equalizer rounds appear to be bullet type, grain weight and velocity. The following information comes directly from the McNett’s DoubleTap Ammunition website:

This is a load that was designed from the ground up to shoot in your tiny sub compact 9mm. It runs at standard 9mm pressures with a very light recoil. This load is an excellent choice for home defense or CCW where limited penetration is needed. You will get excellent stopping power with less chance of overpenetration.

DR attempted to get in touch with Mr. McNett by phone this past week to interview him by phone about DoubleTap Equilizer ammo and get his perspective on it, but we were unsuccessful. We left some messages, and we'll keep trying. Like we said, the ammo's interesting, so we hope to get our hands on some (9mm) at some point to run at the range. In the meantime, take a look at the video clips below:

McNett’s DoubleTap Ammunition Equalizer 165gr and 80gr 9mm +P Duplex Rounds at up to 1400-1600 Feet Per Second (FPS)! Are They “The Heat”, or Just Hype? Latest Gimmick or Ballistic Gold?
by David Crane

About David Crane

David Crane started publishing online in 2001. Since that time, governments, military organizations, Special Operators (i.e. professional trigger pullers), agencies, and civilian tactical shooters the world over have come to depend on Defense Review as the authoritative source of news and information on "the latest and greatest" in the field of military defense and tactical technology and hardware, including tactical firearms, ammunition, equipment, gear, and training.

2 comments

It would seem to make more sense to put a steel ball in the hollow point, that way it either creates a deeper wound channel after the hollowpoint section expands and stops, or if the target is wearing armor you have at least some penetration even though the hollowpoint element might peel away outside.

As an added benefit, you don’t lose any space for powder inside the cartridge, and the bullet then has a round nose profile which facilitates feeding in semi automatic and automatic weapons.

Their was a company here in the south, named MMI, multiple munitions, whom had a triple bullet load for .357 I believe. Had a jacketed bullet with two wad cutters behind it. There motto was three strike’s and your out. Guess they went out of business, as I have not been able to find any more at gun shows